Real Madrid 3-0 Lyon: comfortable Real victory

Real Madrid finally managed to get past Lyon, and into the quarter-finals of the European Cup.

Jose Mourinho made one change from the first leg – Marcelo replaced Alvaro Arbeloa.

Claude Puel brought Lisandro into the side upfront, and had Jimmy Briand on the flank in place of the suspended Michel Bastos. The remainder of the side was unchanged.

After a strong start from Real, the game settled down into a tense but exciting contest. Lyon were looking to play solely on the counter-attack, and sat back with two banks of four, waiting to spring breaks.

Real dominate

Real had the majority of possession early on, but this dominance gradually decreased through the first half. Lyon defended relatively deep when the home side’s attacks continued, and Real struggled to draw men out of position and create space for midfield runners. Mesut Ozil looked to break through the defence in the first few minutes, but then drifted from side to side between the lines. When Real did play balls over the defence, they were caught offside as Lyon’s defence stepped up as a unit very well.

There was no obvious strategy with the ball for Real. Cristiano Ronaldo was played in as often as possible, of course, but aside from one blast which was well tipped over by Hugo Lloris, he didn’t threaten too much. It might well have been the case that, like Lyon, Real were also looking to play predominantly on the break, but with Lyon rarely committing more than four players forward, there were few opportunities to exploit space.

Lyon counter

Lyon broke intelligently down the flanks, taking advantage of the fact Ronaldo and Angel di Maria rarely offered their full-backs protection. They looked to play the ball quickly to the wings (though the balls out wide were often inaccurate) and when possible the full-backs got down the line to create 2 v 1 situations. A few balls were put into the box, and Lyon won a couple of corners. Lisandro often dropped off the front into deeper positions, however, and wasn’t in a great position to get on the end of the crosses.

Another key element to the game was its physicality. Ricardo Carvalho, Pepe, Marcelo and Dejan Lovren all made had tackles, and there were plenty of aerial collisions throughout the first half too.

Lyon often crossed the ball, but Lisandro (and Gomis, in the second half) rarely got to the ball first

It was fitting, then, that Marcelo and Ronaldo combined to break the deadlock – the full-back exchanged passes with the winger and finished after a mazy dribble. It also summed up the fact that Real needed something special to break the deadlock, as Lyon had defended excellently until that point.

Second half

Bafetimbi Gomis came on for Briand at half time, which meant Lisandro Lopez moving across to a high, narrow left-sided position, trying to combine with Gomis, but also occupying Sergio Ramos.

The Real Madrid full-backs stayed at home in the second half anyway, keeping the back four intact, and leaving the attacking to the front four players, with sporadic help from Sami Khedira.

Real wrap it up

The longer the game went on, the more Lyon pushed forward. The more they pushed forward, the more spaces they left at the back – and Real’s counter-attacking became more obvious and more effective. Benzema got the second when confusion in the Lyon defence left him free and through on goal, and Angel Di Maria added the third from a not dissimilar situation.

Lyon had gone 4-2-4ish, with Yoann Gourcuff off and Jeremy Pied on, but Real were comfortable in the second half. Mourinho used his substitutions to rest tired legs.

Conclusion

The start of the game was a tight ‘chess match’ with both looking to play on the break. Both were aware of the other’s intention, however, so few players were committed forward for fear of being hit with a direct attack.

In the second half, Lyon were forced to leave spaces at the back, which played into Real’s hands. That is still when Real are at their most fluent – using the pace and movement of their front four. Ozil was quiet here, which meant Real lacked creativity in tight situations, but the wide players combined nicely with Benzema.

Mourinho still has a 100% record at home with Real, in all competitions.

Hey
I read your blog, it is very (…) close to Zonal Marking!
Good luck though!

Chickletito on March 17, 2011 at 7:57 pm

Yeah, I agree, good but very samey. It’s kinda pointless doing a game already covered by ZM anyway as no-one can hold a candle it this site anyway. Why don’t you cover a game not done by ZM so we can have even more analysis. You could do the Gala – Fener match as ’suleiman’ posted he wanted done.

Thanks for the compliment and advice.Right now im independent blogger so i have to pick the biggest matches and analyse them, but if ZM wanted to PM me on that subject id be more than willing to listen. (Im not insinuating any thing just saying.)

Gnegneri on March 16, 2011 at 10:56 pm

I know it’s a José team and it is the Champions League, so how did they not end up with ten men? Pepe should have been sent off. Some filthy challenges, even if he got the ball. Definitely intention to hurt.

His counterpart on the other side, Cris, shoudl have been as well. But just for sheer ignorance and inability. Possibly the worst performance of the QF this year.

Madrid are crying out for a box to box ball-playing central midfielder to connect Xabi Alonso to the front four. Ozil isn’t a classic 4231 playmaker who drops deep to get involved in deep buildup to assist the deepest midfielders. Borja Valero would be the ideal player to play this role. He can play with Alonso and the front four in an attacking formation or he can play as one of the 3 central midfielders in a 4312. Khedira was not very useful today considering the positions he was taking up; he was simply adding another body to the attack. I struggle to see what Khedira brings to the side when they need to attack, and when they need to defend he isn’t exactly a superb destroyer. All he seems to bring to the table is strength and physicality.

Mark on March 17, 2011 at 12:07 am

Fabregas…

Boba on March 17, 2011 at 3:55 am

I don’t think Fabregas would join Madrid, seeing his ties with Barcelona.

kaveh on March 17, 2011 at 6:29 am

Fabregas would be useless in Madrid anyways. Cesc plays in Ozil’s position, not to mention kaka and Canales are on the bench. To be frank, I don’t think Madrid needs or would even want Cesc.

Ozil is the superior talent in my opinion. Even if you are of the opinion that Cesc is superior, it is irrelevant because he could not be much better than Ozil, in order to justify his price tag, not to mention stunt the growth of Canales.

Mourinho would NEVER play Alonso, Ozil and Cesc on the pitch at once.

Truthandinsight on March 17, 2011 at 8:28 am

Surely KAKA can do the link job that Benn Fitz seems to think Real are lacking…..and I agree about Kedhira, he doesn’t seem to be World-Class in any way, just solid…..Mourinho should swap him for Essien…..

FriskyPete on March 17, 2011 at 5:26 pm

He’s ALREADY played Alonso, Ozil and Kaka on the pitch at once, dumbass.

kaveh on March 17, 2011 at 11:15 pm

Frisky pete…why, why…why are you so dumb?

First off I said cesc not kaka
Secondly kaka ozil and alonso have played together just once and against the weakest of opposition, real sociwtad. Mou would never play those three together against any real competition because they are weak defensively. He can get away with it against weak competition, but that’s not relevant because he can’t play them when it matters.

You really should wise up a bit before mouthing off like that, I may have to have a word with your mother.

I think they have played together a number of times when they were chasing a goal. I think I remember they did against Villarreal, for example. Osasuna and Depor too, maybe.

From what you said “Mourinho would NEVER play Alonso, Ozil and Cesc on the pitch at once” it did seem like you were saying that those three players would never, ever be on the pitch together so being as though Kaka is more offensive than Cesc, I would have to agree with FriskyPete.

A lot of people doubted Mourinho would even play Di Maria, Ronaldo, Ozil and Higuain in one team before the season started but I think he has proved the people claiming he would play really defensive football wrong. I agree that Cesc would be a bad choice to play in a double pivot – he has looked extremely unconfortable in that position when he has played it for Arsenal. But you could easily see a case where Ozil would play wide instead of Di Maria and those three would play together. To say “…why, why…why are you so dumb?” for such a realistic suggestion is bit much.

kaveh on March 23, 2011 at 12:23 am

to footiefapper

You may be right and Mourihno played Kaka, Alonso and Ozil together in emergency circumstances when chasing a goal. But even then, it happened rarely. Unfortunately, that doesn’t change anything.

Ozil, Kaka and Canales play the exact same position in Mourihno’s setup. Mou plays a 4-2-3-1, and the double pivot is Alonso for sure, and then a defensive oriented midfielder like Lass, Khedira or if he wants to go offensive/possession oriented, he may play Granero or Gago in the 2nd role. The middle 3, you have Ronaldo on 1 side, Ozil in the middle and DiMaria on the other side. The lone striker, you have Benz and/or Adebayor.

Now, where would Cesc fit? What would happen to Kaka and Canales, who both fit into Ozil’s role? Or, would have to perhaps move DiMaria out of his position, play Kaka in Ozil’s role and Ozil in DiMaria’s role.

The point is, there is no need for Cesc, and it would be a complete waste to purchase him for 50million euros when he would most likely be a bench warmer. Or even if he played, he would move players out who are on his level, so it makes no sense to spend that sort of money.

On your last point, “To say “…why, why…why are you so dumb?” for such a realistic suggestion is bit much”

Perhaps you didn’t read his post. I didn’t call him dumb for his suggestion, i called him dumb because he insulted me and called me a dumbass. Calling him dumb in response to being called a dumbass for no rational reason is pretty tame.

…at the risk of being one of those internet losers who split hairs to win arguments.. You made you’re point about there being no need for Cesc (which I agree with incidently) and then went on to say “Mourinho would NEVER play Alonso, Ozil and Cesc on the pitch at once”. I think what FriskyPete said was correct and that statement was wrong, that’s all. It’s not like it could be misinterpreted or anything. It’s very clear. It doesn’t mention the price tag, opposition or playing time so I think it’s difficult to justify it on that basis. I think it would be better to say ‘point taken, they may play once or twice but not regularly’ otherwise you run the risk of actually looking like a dumbass!

Roberticus on March 17, 2011 at 2:27 am

No way will Mourinho field two ball-playing central midfielders.

unclesam on March 17, 2011 at 6:13 am

He did just that against Racing Santander recently, playing Granero next to Xabier. But Lass was suspended (and Khedira out injured) so that was probably the reason (although he has praised Granero and his workrate on multiple occasions).

Also, we were very interested in Schweinsteiger last summer, and he was supposed to play next to Xabi, not replace him.

hwk on March 17, 2011 at 9:30 am

Mourinho said that Khedira brings in calmness (a football term?) and makes them compact (or tight).

Maybe the fullbacks are playing the “box-to-box” role in Mourinhos system.

ps. Özil is more of a playmaker/second forward in a 4-4-1-1 kind of way then a midfielder for a 4-3-3.

FS on March 17, 2011 at 3:46 pm

Disagree. For the double-pivot in Madrid’s midfield, you have two choices.

1. Give Alonso a role he has with the national team as a central midfielder. Busquets plays behind him and is a typical destroyer/defensive midfielder, whereas Alonso is less of a deep-lying playmaker and more of a central midfielder with a tendency to attack.

2. Play Alonso as the deep-lying playmaker with a box-to-box midfielder beside him, as he plays in Madrid (where b2b is either Lass or Khedira or Granero).

My suggestion is Mourinho tries the Spain role for Alonso, playing Diarra as a the DM (Busquets role), or playing the Madrid role for Alonso and get Schweinsteiger to play as the box-to-box midfielder.

Roberticus on March 17, 2011 at 5:16 pm

Busquets is anything but a typical destroyer/defensive midfielder. That description would better suit Lass.

FriskyPete on March 17, 2011 at 5:39 pm

How so? Busquets’ game is stifle the opposition attacks by recovering the ball, playing it simple to the other players and staying positionally disciplined. I would say he is the most typical of all destroyer/defensive midfielders – unless you would like to pretend that most defensive midfielders are like Edgar Davids or something, flying into challenges and getting sent off all the time.

Kevos on March 17, 2011 at 7:10 pm

I think he meant that.
Javier Mascherano is a typical destroyer/defensive midfielder. Solid in defense, has good passing skills, flies into challenges and tough tackles etc etc

Busquets is somewhat there but he is more about the position to intercept passes rather than challenging and tackling. And his presence is to distribute balls around when in possession which is a plus in Barca’s system.

2fingersgood3fingersbetter on March 22, 2011 at 4:56 pm

I agree. Most defensive/destroyer types nowadays are about taking good positions for interceptions and playing the ball intelligently but conservatively. Busquets is very much like Carrick or Mikel in this position. Xabi Alonso, I think, is statistically the best ballwinner at Real Madrid – far more balls won per minute played than Lass or Khedira. To say Lass is more of a defensive/destroyer than Busquets who plays behind Alonso for Spain, when Alonso is a better defensive/destroyer than Lass shows that perceptions can be very misleading!

KO2 on March 17, 2011 at 5:17 pm

My suggestion is to continue as he is for the big games where so far he has done very well (except for the Nou Camp) but play a more creative player instead of Khedira/Lass against weaker teams intent on defending for 90 minutes with no ambition to attack, where he has struggled (Osasuna, Levante, Deportivo etc) or had to go all out attack in the last 20 minutes (to make up for the moderate attack in the previous 70 min – eg Hecules).

Capello had this problem with Diarra-Emerson – great record against the top teams but 0-0 draws with small ones. Benitez similarly with Alonso-Mascherano at Liverpool. The game against Racing away where he played a 4-4-2 with no ‘destroyer’ showed that an aggressive attack is more important than a solid defense for 80% of their games.

kaveh on March 17, 2011 at 11:23 pm

I could not agree more. However I would attempt the granero plus alonso more than just against bus parkers, because granero has shown he is capable in defense. Also, khedira is like 23 years old, he will grow into the role of a box to box.

Benn Fitz on March 18, 2011 at 12:10 pm

For all Alonso’s brilliance in terms of his passing range, he is not exactly the greatest when he plays the box to box role. He doesn’t excel in quick one two’s and combination play, nor would I say his final third passing is very ‘creative.’ His best position is as the deepest player spraying accurate passes out to the flanks to get the Madrid wingers one on one situations. I just feel that against teams that Madrid needs to attack that Valero would be extremely useful, because not only is he superb at doing the things I just described above, he is no slouch defensively, albeit I wouldn’t classify him as a destroyer.

Diverinho on March 23, 2011 at 9:11 am

About Khedira’s role in Madrid. I agree, he does not seem to be doing anything outstanding when playing in the double-pivot with Alonso in their 4-2-3-1. Mostly because his role then is nearly only defensive, which he does alright. I liked Khedira much better when they every now and then switch to a 4-1-2-3 (4-3-3), with Alonso as defensive and Khedira and Lassana as central midfielders. With more licence to go forward then he could really make use of his good pace, and contribute a lot to the attacks.

suleiman on March 16, 2011 at 11:23 pm

Hey Michael (a.k.a Zonal Marking),

Where are you going? Taking a break? Come on man; Galatasaray is playing against Fenerbahce on Friday night (GMT: 19:00) and I was looking forward to what you would be saying about it given that you analyzed the first game back in October. I hope we’ll see an analysis after your ‘brief break’. See you then.

mario on March 17, 2011 at 6:00 am

idiot.

KO2 on March 17, 2011 at 5:20 pm

In fairness, in March it is not really a ‘mid-season break’ so much as a Cesc-style ‘out for the important run-in’.

martin on March 17, 2011 at 1:01 pm

Man,

How rude can one be! Write your own review…

Fredegar on March 16, 2011 at 11:29 pm

I found Ozil pretty good, he created a lot.
The ref was good too, he got everything spot on for what I could judge, apart from the nastiness of Pepe, what an ugly player.
Lyon were really poor in the second half, barely able to complete two passes, but Madrid looked very good. Mourinho has had time to shape the team as he wants now, his players seem to hit form, when Higuain returns the first team will be almost injury free (you can hardly count Kaka as a first team player these days…). They get good results and look efficient at the back. Now comes the season’s money time, can Mourinho deliver again, or was it just a blip against a string of poor teams?
as a Barça fan, I start to get worried again.
Classy gesture from the Madrid players th show their support to Abidal!

kaveh on March 16, 2011 at 11:29 pm

The game started very tight, but real madrid showed their class as the game wore on. Ronaldo was obviously not fit after returning from injury, but he still provided that touch of class when it was necessary to assist marcelo on the first goal. Benz is really coming into his own, he forced the lyon gk into one of the best saves I’ve ever seen, and his goal was so cool. I’m very impressed with benz, all he needed was playing time and he would come good on all that talent. Khedira had an under rated game, defensively he is very good and he does have the ability to shine on offense. He is only 22-23 years old, with time he will grow into that box to box mid role.

Madrid had a lot of good chances and quite frankly I don’t remember even one from lyon so they definitely deserved the scoreline. They may well be the second best side in europe behind bar cd a.

Real2 on March 17, 2011 at 7:32 am

“I’m very impressed with benz, all he needed was playing time and he would come good on all that talent. ”

Not quite correct. What Benz needed was a shrink and Mou has been doing all that work on his mind since the beginning of this season and it’s now beginning to show. Recall that Benz’s problem were already there since he moved to Real seasons ago, it wasn’t for lack of playing time.

I have googled it, and have found out lots of interesting information regarding Benzema’s attitude and Mourinho’s quite extreme actions and efforts in trying to change and improve Benzema’s attitude – with obviously impressive results.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you, Real2, for empowering me with the tools I needed to aquire the necessary information to accurately answer my question…….

Benzema’s best position is pulling wide left in a 4-4-2 (diamond) or a 4-3-1-2. Mourinho was using him as a de facto replacement for Higuain, who is a Mourinho Drogba analogue. This was never going to work as he is not that type of player. He uses his speed and skill to beat defenders outside the box to gain entry to the box rather than playing in the box and using strength to hold off defenders in the box. I think his playing with Adebayor has helped him as Adebayor is a player who plays in the box and using strength to hold off defenders in the box.

I think Benzema would thrive in a wing position or in a role similar to where Henry played for Arsenal. Therefore, I would suggest to Benzema if he were to read this that he should seek a transfer to Arsenal. If Arsenal bought Benzema, put Wenger as director of football, signed a couple of good defenders like Vidic and Chiellini and appointed a good up and coming coach like Holloway, I would predict they would win the Champions League within four seasons.

KO2 on March 16, 2011 at 11:39 pm

Ronaldo looked to be playing on one leg. There is no way he should start against Atletico.

Don’t know what to make of this Madrid team really. Sometimes they really impress me, other times not, and for some reason, they just don’t remind me of a Mourinho team. Think of all of the Mourinho teams of the past; Porto, Chelsea, Inter. All based around organisation and discipline, just don’t see that in this Madrid team.

Would this Madrid team be able to go and do a job like Mourinho’s Inter did on Chelsea and Barcelona last year? Before Jose went to Madrid, people were talking about Mourinho’s beliefs and philosophies being changed due to the expected way of playing of the Madrid team, and I believe he has changed.

Having said that they may not be as disciplined as some of the Jose teams of the past, I’d certainly count them with Barcelona, Chelsea and United as the teams in with the best chance of winning it. Bit of luck by getting Schalke/Donetsk, no disrespect, but those are the teams all the teams left in want, and Madrid SHOULD be in the Semi-Finals, and then we’ll see what this Madrid team are really made of…

kaveh on March 17, 2011 at 4:04 am

The times when they have REALLY impressed me is when Xabi Alonso and Granero are the 2 in the middle of the 4-2-3-1. Granero is almost as good as Alonso in terms of possession/passing in my opinion, he adds a completely different dimension to the team versus Khedira/Lass. When they have played Granero, DiMaria also comes more centrally while Ozil swings to the outside. Surprisingly, DiMaria is excellent in the middle and has the most assists on the team. His escapability and dribbling make him a handful to deal with. It also may be due to Granero’s perceived weakness defensively when you compare him to Khedira/Lass, since DiMaria does the best job of tracking back.

Also, since Ronaldo has been injured, Benz has looked absolutely unstoppable playing on the wing with Adebayor up front. I’m wondering whether Mou will try a front 4 of

Benzema—Ozil—Ronaldo
——–Adebayor——

Moving Benz to the wing in DiMaria’s spot and bringing in Adebayor to play the sole striker.

Either way, this team is very impressive to me. It seems that in the bigger matches, the front guys get a little extra incentive to play defense, and so you’ll see Ozil, Benzema, Adebayor and even Ronaldo tracking back and helping out. DiMaria is excellent at tracking back as well. The only team i see actually better than this one is Barca. But i just don’t see a dominant team anywhere else. Man United? Not even close. Chelsea? Not really. Arsenal may have been the best EPL team and they are gone. I put Madrid right up against any of those teams, with only Barca being clearly superior at this point in time.

Also, it should be noted the age of this Madrid team. One of the youngest in Europe. Ozil, Benz, DiMaria, Marcelo, Khedira, Higuain, Granero, Canales, et al, are all 22-23 years old. If they have any patience, this team will mature together and be a force for many years to come.

Diriye on March 17, 2011 at 2:33 am

Different take on “Ozil being quiet”.

Ozil’s intelligence and of the ball movement alone created more chances for his teammates today. Let’s start with Marcelo goal, Ozil kept Chris away from Marcelo until it was too late to challenge the Brazilian. The second goal was created due to his movement again, in the third he flicks for Di Maria. In between he sets up a perfect ball for Benzema. All of these movements are possible because there is more space for Ozil’s creativity(Ronaldo wasn’t sitting in the middle where Ozil normally does his damage) What is clear is that without Ronaldo Madrid has seen more passing game, more creativity from Ozil, and more teeth from Benzema. So the real question is whether Madrid and Ronaldo are good fit at all?

hwk on March 17, 2011 at 9:38 am

the last game in Spain I saw (without Ronaldo) was great. and interesting how Real would change tactics.

Mezforever on March 17, 2011 at 10:13 am

Totally agree with Diriye about Özil! He was influential on all goals, plus could have netted even himself with any luck. His style is such a smooth operator esp off ball, and suddenly he appears just in the right places. And what final passes from the ground AND even a headflick! As a female admirer I also highly value his elegance in appearance and movement, delicious.

Diverinho on March 17, 2011 at 3:41 pm

I reckon you had Sade’s famous song in your head when writing this But yes, Oezil plays quite neatly and smoothly, and kind of holds the strings together in Real’s attacking game. Also, he always will (altruistically) move to spaces of the pitch, where a player is needed at the very moment. Usually because somebody else (Ronaldo, DiMaria) just is having a scoring spree, and that adds good balance to the team.

the only two differences between the two sides are technical quality and speed. and that’s enough for real madrid to qualify for the quarter finals. at times, it was also fantastic to see real madrid perform some outrageous skills. kudos to lyon for putting up a good fight. thumbs up to claude puel. he made jose mourinho extremely worried until that first goal…how many times have you seen the so-called special one so edgy at the touchline?

JediRage on March 17, 2011 at 8:39 am

I only saw the second half but ZM, surely you must place Marcelo in front of Ronaldo no?

This guy is a disaster waiting to happen. And some of his tackles were god awful.

matt on March 17, 2011 at 5:10 pm

Real Madrid just needed to adjust their play style to accommodate Benzema. Benzema plays with his back to goal, and prefers the ball into his feet, while Higuain loves to run onto through balls into space, and Adebayor likes to compete for the ball in the air. I think that this trio of strikers give Madrid great adaptability up front (a possible fourth option is Ronaldo/Ozil as a false 9) and pose real problems to any opposing defense.

FriskyPete on March 17, 2011 at 5:25 pm

“Adebayor likes to compete for the ball in the air”

More like Adebayor likes to stand offside.

kaveh on March 17, 2011 at 11:31 pm

Haha funny one. You are definitely living up to your role as clown of ZM! Good job.

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